Wizard
A wizard (also referred to as a sorcerer) is a person empowered to employ supernatural spells. The worlds connected by the glittering plain give rise to a minority of individuals who are born with an innate talent for magic and sorcery. In context, the vast majority of people have no such talents; most of those who do have inherited the ability from their parents or ancestors. Many wizards were known to have blood relatives with similar powers, perhaps most prominently the Senjak family (including the Lady, Soulcatcher, and the Daughter of Night). Many of the key persons in the Annals were wizards. Abilities and limitations The full range of magic capabilities is never detailed in the Annals, even during the Book of Lady, although a very wide variety of spells and powers are observed. Powerful sorcery includes: "sendings" that kill outright; summonings that bring terrible creatures over from demon realms; spells that can prolong lifespans and heal terrible wounds; glamours that make someone appear to be a different person or altogether invisible; and, difficult shape-changing spells (and corresponding "release" spells) which genuinely transform a person's body into an entirely different shape. The maximum extent of talent is inherent in the individual, for example: minor wizards like Goblin and One-Eye could never immediately summon the level of power at the disposal of a mighty sorceress like the Lady. Wizardry is limited primarily by the magnitude (innate power) of the caster, their inventiveness and training, and how long they have to prepare the spell. Even a relatively minor wizard like One-Eye was able to, given enough time, forge a weapon that was capable of wounding the demigoddess, Kina. A mighty sorcerer like the Dominator might have been able to forge such a weapon in weeks or perhaps even days, instead of it becoming the obsession of many years. Word, gesture, and sometimes both, are required for the casting of apparently all spells. Words in the form of singing also apply: Raker began singing a spell to protect himself from his killers in The Black Company. Lady reflects that strangulation is one of the most effective ways to kill a wizard since it precludes the possibility of them vocalizing a spell. And, even the powerful practitioners Limper and Whisper are fully neutralized when Croaker and Raven gag them and bind their fingers in the Forest of Cloud. Lady summarized this as follows: Wizards can bind sorcery to objects or their own bodies. For example, Longshadow unleashed a trump card in the form of a shadow, bound into one of his fingernails after being cornered towards the end of She Is the Darkness. Although he is unsuccessful in escaping he wounds Soulcatcher and severely injures Howler in the process. The "release spells" used to bring a shape-shifted person back to their original form are described in She Is the Darkness as having "terms" and "postulates". These geometrical descriptors presumably apply to other types of complex spells. True name The most significant limitation faced by all wizards is their own true name. Anyone who knows the true name of a wizard can render their spells powerless. An arrow inscribed with a wizard's name can pierce through complex protective spells to deliver genuinely dangerous wounds, whereas a normal weapon would be ineffective. And, most importantly of all, there is the Rite of Naming – a simple ritual that an enemy can perform which utterly strips away a wizard's innate magical talent forever. This ritual can be performed by a insignificant wizard against a sorcerer of god-like power. The final or "closing" portion of the ritual simply involves invoking the target's full name within earshot of the target. Life extension and immortality Perhaps the most remarkable power attributed to magic in the Black Company series is the extended lifespan of even some minor of wizards. One-Eye, a minor "hedge wizard", apparently passed the two-hundred-year mark before the end of the Annals. Goblin, another wizard of comparable strength, was younger than One-Eye but not by much. Very powerful wizards seem capable of genuine immortality. The Lady seemed to think that living forever was a realistic goal for her when she was in the fullness of her power. Still older was the Howler, who was "ages" older than the Lady. The Master was another extremely ancient sorcerer who antedated the Lady and the Dominator. He was an immobile, obese glutton who lived uninterrupted for centuries. Longshadow is also apparently very ancient, although details are lacking. Despite the mystery of his origins, and even though his powers were not of particularly high magnitude, he survived enough to: rise to power in his unspecified native world; be exiled from there; conquer Hsien; be exiled from there as well; and conquer the Shadowlands in the homeworld. Extreme durability and vitality For the most powerful practitioners, advanced magic provides far more than simply an extended life-span. Some are so well protected by their spells, that they can survive a wide variety of otherwise lethal wounds. A few of the more noteworthy ones are as follows: * The Hanged Man survived the bite of the noose (albeit with lasting, gruesome wounds). * Soulcatcher not only survived decapitation, but was able to control her body below the neck, and later reconnected her head to it. * The Howler survived slamming into the Tower at Charm at high velocity and the subsequent free-fall of hundreds of feet. He also was capable of preserving his body despite being frozen solid in the Dandha Presh mountains after being betrayed by Soulcatcher in She Is the Darkness. * The Limper is the most durable survivor in the Annals. He survived numerous different kinds of horrendous wounds that would have killed a normal person countless times over. This included: burial beneath a collapsed building; brutally hacked to pieces; being hanged; outright decapitation; and, even the destruction of his body below the neck. Category:Magic